As expected, not long after, Leader Lu had fully recovered to his peak condition.
“From now on, I want you to lure all the Fourth Level Sovereign Gods in this branch stronghold to me, one by one,” Ye Yunfei said to Leader Lu.
“As you command,” Leader Lu replied respectfully and reverently. After having his Soul Body controlled by the Puppet Soul Thread, his loyalty to Ye Yunfei was absolute.
Ye Yunfei then moved to a secluded spot within the branch stronghold. He had Leader Lu seek out the other Fourth Level Sovereign Gods in the outpost, fabricate various excuses to lure them to his location, and then seized and subdued each of them one by one.
The more Sovereign Gods Ye Yunfei controlled, the more convenient his operations within this branch stronghold became. In the end, Ye Yunfei succeeded in controlling every single Fourth Level Sovereign God in this branch stronghold, turning them all into his slaves.
He then attempted to target a Fifth Level Sovereign God. Ye Yunfei found an opportunity to capture this Fifth Level Sovereign God, brought him into the Phantom Tower, and then attempted to employ the Puppet Soul Thread Secret Art to control his Soul Body. The result was that the Sovereign God’s Soul Body swelled abruptly, nearly destroying itself.
“It seems I’m still unable to subdue Fifth Level Sovereign Gods as slaves at this stage.” Ye Yunfei was somewhat disappointed after the attempt.
He then proceeded to devour the Fifth Level Sovereign God’s Soul Body using Soul Purification Art, absorbing his memories. Afterwards, Ye Yunfei left this Guardian Faction branch stronghold and set his sights on other strongholds of the Guardian Faction.
In the time that followed, Ye Yunfei continuously infiltrated multiple branch strongholds of the Guardian Faction, converting the majority of members in each outpost into his clones.
As for the Sovereign Gods, all those of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Levels were subdued using the Puppet Soul Thread and turned into slaves.
Ye Yunfei temporarily ignored the Sovereign Gods above the Fifth Level for now.
More than half the members in those branch strongholds had already become either clones or slaves of Ye Yunfei. He ordered these clones and slaves to continue lurking within their respective strongholds, gathering all manner of intelligence for him.
Moreover, these clones and slaves would inevitably have opportunities to enter the battlefield in the future, where they would be able to play an even greater role.
Ye Yunfei had already performed such tasks many times before and could perform such tasks with his eyes closed.
Following this, Ye Yunfei continued to infiltrate one Guardian Faction branch stronghold after another, converting the majority of members in each into his clones or slaves.
“The consequences of offending you are far too severe for the Guardian Faction,” Hun Lao couldn’t help laughing as he remarked.
“Of course,” Hu Miao said. “Who told them to provoke my master? Mess with my master, and this is the kind of consequence you face.”
After Ye Yunfei had amassed a large number of clones and controlled numerous Guardian Faction Sovereign Gods, his understanding of the various situations within this void deepened considerably.
Within this void, the war between the Guardian Faction and the Hunyuan Sect was growing increasingly fierce. For now, both sides were locked in a stalemate, each having suffered casualties.
Within this void, both major powers had concentrated their most elite armies. Moreover, Chaos God-level powerhouses from both sides had already joined the fight.
Based on information Ye Yunfei gleaned from the memories of the Guardian Faction Sovereign Gods, three or four major powers had either openly or covertly expressed support for the Guardian Faction—powers such as the Great Netherworld, the Rune Sacred Land, the Blade Realm, and a few others.
The Blade Realm had gone so far as to openly dispatch an army into the First Void to join the Guardian Faction’s forces on the battlefield.
One could say the Blade Realm was the first major power to openly declare their stance and formally send an army in support of the Guardian Faction.
In contrast, the Hunyuan Sect side had not yet received any major power openly declaring assistance, let alone dispatching forces to aid them. Thus, the Hunyuan Sect side appeared somewhat isolated at the moment.
A prevalent sentiment was circulating within the First Void, predicting that the Hunyuan Sect would most likely be the eventual loser of this war. The reason was that so many major powers were either overtly or covertly supporting the Guardian Faction, granting them a significant advantage.
Fortunately, the Hunyuan Sect was also an ancient power with a lengthy heritage. Even while facing the combined cooperation of several other major powers, they were still holding their own splendidly, showing no signs of imminent defeat for the time being.
“I suspect a part of the reason the Blade Realm openly sent an army to aid the Guardian Faction in the First Void has to do with you,” Hun Lao speculated. “You are not only the heir to the Sword Realm, but also a member of the Hunyuan Sect. Therefore, the Blade Realm certainly believes the Sword Realm stands on the Hunyuan Sect’s side, so they simply dispatched an army openly to support the Guardian Faction.”
“That’s a possibility,” Ye Yunfei nodded.
“Let’s not worry about that for now. With my current strength, even if I were to join the main battlefields, I might not be able to contribute much,” Ye Yunfei pondered and then said. “Both sides already have Chaos Gods participating in the high-level battles. For now, I should maintain a low profile and only officially join the fray when the opportunity is right.”
“Good,” Hun Lao also nodded. “I also think you should focus on subjugating more Guardian Faction members into clones first. That would gradually and quietly undermine the overall strength of the Guardian Faction. Considering your current power and identity, operating covertly might allow you to play a greater role.”
Although Ye Yunfei already possessed battle prowess equivalent to a Chaos God, both the Hunyuan Sect and the Guardian Faction had already deployed Chaos Gods in this war, and likely a considerable number at that. Ye Yunfei probably wouldn’t be able to sweep through everything indiscriminately if he appeared on the main battlefield now.
“Next, I plan to target members of the Great Netherworld, the Rune Sacred Land, and the Blade Realm, and convert them into my clones as well,” Ye Yunfei contemplated and then stated.
Ye Yunfei continued to operate throughout the First Void, no longer restricting himself to searching for Guardian Faction branch strongholds. His targets now included branch strongholds of other major powers such as the Blade Realm, the Great Netherworld, and the Rune Sacred Land. Whenever he discovered one, he would immediately devise a plan to infiltrate it and turn its members into his clones or slaves.
Moreover, whenever Ye Yunfei encountered isolated Sovereign Gods belonging to those major powers, he would act without hesitation, devouring their Soul Bodies.
Not long after, a high-ranking member of the Earth Gate suddenly came to find Ye Yunfei.
“Young Master Ye, our Gate Master has learned of your arrival in the First Void. He has sent me to inform you that our Earth Gate is preparing to launch attacks on various Blade Realm branch strongholds. Within this First Void, there are at least a dozen Blade Realm strongholds. Our Gate Master has already dispatched forces to encircle those dozen strongholds. Next, we will launch successive attacks and completely wipe them all out,” the Earth Gate elder said to Ye Yunfei.
“That’s good. I’ll go and join in the fun as well,” Ye Yunfei said after some thought.
Ye Yunfei remembered that back in the Sword Realm, experts from the Divine Sword Sect and the Blade Realm had launched a surprise attack on Shoudi Laoren, imprisoning him deep within the Sword Realm’s core and tormenting him for an extended period. Shoudi Laoren bore a deep-seated hatred for the Divine Sword Sect and the Blade Realm. Now that the Divine Sword Sect had already been annihilated by Ye Yunfei, only the Blade Realm remained. Shoudi Laoren was certainly not going to let things rest easily. He would definitely use every method at his disposal to deal with the Blade Realm, venting the hatred in his heart.
“Young Master Ye, the Gate Master said if you are interested, I am to escort you to the battle,” the elder added.
“Good. Take me there now,” Ye Yunfei nodded.
Ye Yunfei immediately followed the Earth Gate elder.
Before long, they arrived within a relatively sizable world cluster. Inside this world cluster was a Blade Realm branch stronghold.
“Young Master Ye, we meet again,” a voice transmission reached Ye Yunfei the moment he entered this world cluster.
In the space not far ahead, thick clouds of earthy yellow energy mist billowed and swirled. An elder emerged from those mists and looked toward Ye Yunfei. It was Shoudi Laoren.
The Shoudi Laoren Ye Yunfei had encountered earlier in the Eighth Void was a clone. That clone had gone to the Eighth Void to inspect Earth Gate’s various branch strongholds. The Shoudi Laoren before him now was the true body.
After leaving the Sword Realm, Shoudi Laoren had returned to the First Void. His true body had remained here all along, because the Earth Gate’s true headquarters was located within the First Void.
“Greetings, Senior,” Ye Yunfei immediately stepped forward to pay his respects, while also discreetly sensing Shoudi Laoren.
“His strength is far greater than when he was in the Sword Realm. I cannot even perceive his true realm and power now,” Hun Lao, who had also attempted to sense Shoudi Laoren’s strength, said in shock.
“To be precise, this is his true strength,” Ye Yunfei transmitted back. “Back in the Sword Realm, he had just broken free from confinement and was extremely weak. That level of power was not his true strength at all.”
“Indeed,” Hun Lao agreed. “This Shoudi Laoren was already a famously revered Divine Earth Master within the Chaos Void Sea in ancient times. His reputation is certainly well-deserved. If he had possessed his current power back in the Sword Realm, the Divine Sword Sect would never have dared to attack him. I suspect even that Zhou Duantian fellow wouldn’t have been his opponent then.”
While Ye Yunfei was sensing Shoudi Laoren, Shoudi Laoren was also sensing Ye Yunfei. Shoudi Laoren’s eyes then took on an appreciative gleam.
“It appears Young Master Ye’s strength and cultivation level have advanced once more during this time. Your future potential is limitless!” Shoudi Laoren said with a smile.
“Senior praises me too highly.”
“Alright, Young Master Ye. I am ready to make my move now. There is a Blade Realm branch stronghold within this world cluster, and I intend to wipe it out,” Shoudi Laoren said to Ye Yunfei.
“Senior, before the attack begins, allow me to go in first. Those members of the Blade Realm could be of use to me,” Ye Yunfei immediately said. “Here’s my suggestion. Senior, please first send people to encircle that Blade Realm stronghold to prevent their escape.”
Ye Yunfei planned to enter first and convert the members of the Blade Realm inside this stronghold into clones or slaves.
“Very well, Young Master Ye. We’ll proceed as you suggest,” Shoudi Laoren agreed directly, without asking the reason. Back in the subterranean world beneath the Sword Realm’s surface, it was Ye Yunfei who had rescued him. To Shoudi Laoren, Ye Yunfei was a savior. “Don’t worry. With me here, those Blade Realm dogs won’t have a chance to flee.”
“Thank you, Senior. I will enter first and take a look,” Ye Yunfei expressed his gratitude. His figure then blurred as he activated his movement technique, charging toward that Blade Realm branch stronghold.
“Excellent. This young man is the most outrageously talented young genius I have ever encountered,” Shoudi Laoren watched Ye Yunfei vanish instantly and couldn’t help nodding repeatedly in praise.